Lewis Grizzard, 47, Writer and Master Of Southern Humor

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

Published: March 21, 1994

Lewis Grizzard, the writer and columnist who recalled the mythic South with folksy humor and nostalgia, died yesterday in Atlanta. He was 47 and lived in Atlanta.

Mr. Grizzard died at Emory University Hospital, where he had suffered extensive brain damage after heart surgery. He had a living will saying his life should not be prolonged in such a situation, the hospital said.

The operation was the fourth major heart operation that Mr. Grizzard had undergone in 12 years. His heart problems stemmed from a congenital defect that had damaged his aortic valve.

For much of his career, Mr. Grizzard worked for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a columnist whose writings were syndicated to about 450 newspapers across the country.

He became something of an icon among his most dedicated fans, a humorist who made a career out of parading his Southern roots and good ol' boy style in his writing.

"The only way that I could figure they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life's most delightful elixirs, which studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum or bourbon in it," he wrote.

He was also the author of about a dozen books, with quirky titles like "Elvis Is Dead, and I Don't Feel So Good Myself," "Don't Bend Over in the Garden, Granny, You Know Them Taters Got Eyes," "Shoot Low, Boys -- They're Riding Shetland Ponies" and "Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night."

But Mr. Grizzard had his critics, who found his views on feminists and homosexuals, for example, a throwback to the conventions of the old South.

Mr. Grizzard was born in Fort Benning, Ga., in 1946, the only child of Lieut. Lewis Grizzard Sr. and Christine Grizzard. At 19, while attending the University of Georgia, h became the sports editor of a nearby newspaper.

The Atlanta Journal hired him right out of college, and he became executive sports editor at age 23. He later was the sports editor of The Chicago Sun-Times. After returning to Atlanta, he began his humor column in 1978.

He is survived by his fourth wife, Dedra Kyle, whom he married in the hospital on Wednesday.